Loving You
by Mini Luna
Summary: Harry is at home with the Dursleys. He's fed up and is grieving over Sirius. But what happens when a certain red-head gets in touch with him? Will he be able to change his life and finally be the one he was destined to be?
1. Realization

Harry sighed as he continued to stare out of the window. It was July 30th. He turned his gaze to the clock on his bedside table. It glowed luminescent in the dark.

11:58 pm. Only two more minutes till he was sixteen. He looked out of the window and sighed once more. He remembered all the birthdays he'd ever had. The ones with the Dursleys were miserable for they had ignored every single one. It was better that way. He snorted as he imagined his relatives throwing him a party. He'd probably hex them on the spot, imagining them to be Death Eaters.

11:59 pm. A minute left. The stars in the sky were bright and the moon was full once again. Lupin's in for a rough night he thought. Too bad Sirius-. He cut off from that train of thought. It was too painful to think about it.

0:00 am. He was now sixteen. He didn't feel any different. Actually he felt quite sad. It was his birthday without Sirius. His eyes burned as Sirius's face loomed in his mind. This was Voldemort's fault. All bloody Voldemort's fault! _No it's not his fault. You're the one who went to the Department of Mysteries_ a snide voice in his head said. And somehow he knew it was right. A sob escaped him but he quickly composed himself. He glanced at the window. In the distance he could see three dots coming closer and before he knew it there were three owls on his bed. The first one was his snowy owl Hedwig. She stood proud at accomplishing her mission. Next to her was Pig hooting excitedly and the other brown owl he presumed was from Hogwarts. Once he had relived the owls of their burdens the brown owl took off at once while Pig and Hedwig perched in Hedwig's cage.

He opened Hedwig's to find a letter from Hermione.

_Dear Harry,_

_Happy Birthday!_

_How are you? Are your relatives treating you well? I'm at home at the moment but I'm going to go the Burrow soon and by the time this reaches you I'll already be there. I know what you're thinking Harry. It's not your fault and remember that I'll always be there and that it's good to talk. Well I better wrap this up, Hedwig's getting impatient._

_Talk soon_

_Love from _

_Hermione_

Harry frowned as he finished the letter. He knew Hermione meant well but to be honest he didn't want talk about it. He picked up her present and grinned. It was definitely a book. He opened it and his grin grew wider. It was green book and on the front it was emblazoned with _A Hundred Diversionary Seeker Attacks. _ He put the book down and grabbed Hagrid's letter.

_Hello Harry_

_How are you? Hope the muggles don't get you down and have a happy birthday. I hope you like the present I got you. It'll only be opened by you._

_Hagrid _

He unwrapped a badly wrapped parcel and out fell a pouch with fangs. Typical Hagrid he thought. He opened it and found it charmed so it had an unlimited amount of space inside. He then took Ron's letter and started to read.

_Heya mate!_

_Happy birthday! How are the muggles looking after you? If they try to do anything just hex them-they deserve it. Dumbledore said it's alright for you to come over. Hermione's already here. Be ready by noon on Friday._

_See ya!_

_Ron_

Harry opened Ron's present to find a Chudley Cannons poster. Harry just shook his head at Ron's antics. It was a well known fact that the Chudley Cannons were probably the worst team ever. He was suddenly brought out o his reverie when he saw another present. He wondered who it could be from. He grabbed the note and started reading.

_Hi Harry!_

_HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Wow, you are now officially sixteen! Only a year till you're of age. Can you believe it? And I know what you're thinking Harry and stop brooding! It's your birthday, have fun! I know for a fact that Ron hasn't told you anything. Honestly, I swear the git dosen't have a brain. Bill's getting married! I know, shock. I would be really excited (I know your rolling your eyes-I'm a seer! Joke)but did he have to get married to Phlegm...err...I mean Fleur. Yes Fleur Delacour! I can see you going in to shock._

_See you on Friday! And stop brooding!_

_SMILE!_

_Love_

_Ginny_

Harry stared at Ginny's letter. It truly had made him smile. He hadn't felt this happy since before the Department of Mysteries incident. An image of a slim red-haired girl in a white summer dress came to his mind. Her hair glistened in the sunlight. He smiled once more and then climbed into bed. Maybe things were looking up. Maybe he could defeat Voldemort and with that thought in mind he swiftly fell asleep. Dreaming of a certain girl.

__________________________________________________________________________________


	2. Thinking

The next day Harry got up early in the morning to go for a jog. He had started this ever since he got back from school because a) it was an excuse to get away from the Dursleys and b) he was absolutely astounded at the fight at the Department of Mysteries. He had tired very easily and had become prone to spells very easily. He had thought that his qudditch had him in good shape but he was sorely wrong.

As he started his jog he mused over all the letters and presents he had got yesterday. He had fallen asleep before he opened Ginny's present but this morning he found it. It was a silver necklace with a snake in a figure of eight shape resting in a circle. An emerald was encrusted in the place of the eye. Harry personally thought that it was the best present he had got simply because it had the most sentimental value. Ginny had actually thought about his gift and it looked like she had spent quite a bit of money on it as well. He knew the Weasleys weren't a very rich family so he appreciated it even more.

A noise of someone tripping behind him caught his attention.

"Shoot!" There was a distortion in the air for about a second.

Harry chuckled. The moment he had come to Privet Drive he had realised that he was being followed practically everywhere. He had become attuned to his guards so he knew which one was guarding him and when. At the moment it was Tonks. She was very clumsy and he could hear her fall over all the time. Mudungus Fletcher was distinguishable from the smell of whiskey while Mad-Eye-Moody could be detected by the clunk of his wooden leg. Kingsley Shacklebolt was much harder to identify as he was an excellent auror and could only be revealed by the odd twig snapping. At first was rather annoyed that Dumbledore was having him followed without him knowing but after a while he realised that was how Dumbledore was. He was sneaky and cunning. He had assessed all of the decisions the old man had made and grasped that Dumbledore had been setting up a certain sequence of events. First of all why the Philosopher's Stone would would be kept at Hogwarts and he just _had_ to come by the Mirror of Erised by accident. Also how could three first-years be able to pass obstacles set by a few of the most powerful wizards and witches in the world?

_What a pile of shit._

Then came his second year. Surely the headmaster could have enforced more rules or have closed the school down for the students. Right? Wrong, apparently Dumbledore doesn't work that way and he hired the most incompetent DADA teacher in the history of Hogwarts. Quirrel came at a close second. In his third-year dementors, one of the darkest creatures to roam the earth, were stationed at the very school with eleven and twelve year olds. _I mean honestly, _he thought _even I could have done better._ The next year he was entered in to the Triwizard Tournament. There must have been a way to get him out of it but no, Dumbledore said he had to play. And that's excluding the fact that he hired a Death Eater. _My fifth-year, don't even get me started._ _That year was a complete waste._ Dumbledore practically gave the Ministry absolute control of Hogwarts. It just happened that he thought that the new DADA teacher was an old toad and started the DA.

_Coincidence? I think not._


End file.
